The death toll from swine flu topped 50 as Costa Rica reported its first fatality from the virus and Japan and Norway joined a growing list of nations with confirmed cases.

In Costa Rica, Health Minister Maria Luisa Avila said the victim was a 53-year-old man who died on Saturday after more than a week in a hospital in the capital San Jose.

The man had been suffering from other health problems, including diabetes and a chronic pulmonary condition. Eight other Costa Ricans had contracted A(H1N1) influenza, as the virus is officially known, Avila said.

In Tokyo, a student who recently returned from North America has tested positive for swine flu in Japan’s fourth confirmed case of the virus, a government official said.

The Japanese teenager was among 49 passengers who were quarantined near Tokyo’s Narita International Airport following confirmation of Japan’s first three cases of the A(H1N1) influenza virus Saturday.

Earlier, the health ministry said a teacher and two of the student’s schoolmates, who had been on a high school trip to Canada, tested positive for the virus.